Question

Which one of the following fishes is a surface feeder?
A. Rohu
B. Mrigal
C. Common crap
D. Catla

Answer 1

Hint: Fishes with large broad protruding mouths find it easy to grab their food on the surface. They have to hide while hunting for their prey.

Complete answer:
- We will first learn the basic feeding habits of the fishes.
Fishes have various feeding habits. They can be carnivores, herbivores, omnivores and limnivores.

- Rearing fishes need a lot of attention from changing the water daily, keeping an adequate amount of feed and minerals etc.

- We have two types of feeder fish: Bottomfeeder and Surface feeder. Bottom feeder fishes, as the name suggests, will feed at the bottom of the waterbody. For example- Shellfish, sea cucumbers, common crap etc. They also feed on dead organic material so they are detritivores.

- The surface feeder is the fishes which will rise to the surface to grab their prey or food without being noticed. Their straight back will help their supra terminal mouth to reach the surface.

- Rohu is a carp fish. It is an omnivore with a mass of about 25 kg. It eats zooplankton initially but also feeds on phytoplankton.

- Mrigal is a plankton feeder found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh.

- Common carp is found in Europe and Asia. They are omnivorous.

- Catla(Labeo catla) has a protruding large mouth making it perfect to feed on surface prey. They feed on zooplankton and phytoplankton. They are surface and mid-water feeders.

So the answer is option D: Catla

Note:
- Carnivore fishes will eat meat meaning they will feed on worms, larvae of mosquitoes etc.
- Herbivores will feed only on plants. So we can't keep them near natural plants as that could result in a destroyed garden. We can make them feed on pees, potatoes, cucumbers(obviously tiny pieces).
- Omnivores can feed on almost everything whether meat or plants. So, they can gain fat very easily.
- Limnivores feed on mud. They are mostly provided with algae-based foods. They are called mud-eaters.